Greencore rival must clarify bid

Boparan, the company which has expressed an interest in bidding for Northern Foods, must make a firm intention for the company by 21st January, the British Takeover Panel said today.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the takeover panel said the company must announce either a firm intention to make an offer for Northern Foods, or announce that it does not intend to make an offer.

The Panel said that no extension to the deadline will be granted without the consent of the Panel Executive.

In the event of Boparan announcing that it will not make an offer, it will also be prohibited from making a fresh offer for the company within six months.

Under takeover rules, the target company - in this case Northern Foods - must request the takeover panel to seek  a clarification from the interested party.

Northern Foods said it welcomed the announcement, adding that to date Boparan has not made an offer proposal to its board.

In November, Greencore and Northern Foods announced a proposed merger which would form a new company, Essenta.

On December 22nd, Boparan Holdings, a company controlled by Yorkshire-based chilled food tycoon Ranjit Singh Boparan, said it was at "a preliminary stage in evaluating a possible cash offer for the company".

The British businessman holds over 6 per cent of Northern Foods through his wholly owned company, Saerimner. Since the announcement of the proposed merger between Greencore and Northern Foods he had increased his stake from under 3 per cent to 6.6 per cent.

Greencore and Northern Foods have scheduled shareholder meetings to approve the merger on January 31st. Today's announcement - known as a 'day-50' clarification - requires the counter-offeror to offer a firm bid ten days before the end of the offer period.

Greencore said yesterday that it welcomes the the timetable to clarify Boparan's intentions ahead of the shareholder meetings and that it continues to believe that the merger of Greencore and Northern Foods "represents a compelling opportunity for value creation for both Greencore and Northern Foods shareholders."